Expect the Unexpected
by Bluandfuzzy
Summary: Knuckles and Rouge have a baby! Well okay so it's a chao but hey you could pretend right? Come read as Knuckles learns how to be a daddy and as destruction ensues. Chappy 5: Wait! Don't touch that!
1. Chappy 1

Hey peoples! My first Sonic fanfic! YAY!!! Anywayz, it follows along the line of the game Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. And yes, I realize practically EVERYONE is OOC in this fic, but that's what makes it so much fun! ^.^ In my little world Rouge is totally obsessed with Knuckles and is after him every day. Well, I don't have very much to say, I just hope you enjoy it!!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Knuckles (damn...) Rouge, or any other characters in this fanfic. Except for the chao (I won't give away the name JUST yet) who is totally mine! ^.^  
  
Expect the Unexpected  
  
By Mrs. Trunks' Mom  
  
Knuckles skid around the corner, gasping for air and breathing deeply. He looked up and around and gave a sigh of relief. "Good, I lost her," he muttered to himself. He sunk to the ground and tried to catch his breath when he heard a piercing voice.   
  
"Knuuuuuuckles!" His eyes bulged as he stumbled to his feet, but it was too late. A finger tapped him on the shoulder and he was almost too afraid to turn around, but he finally did, and immediately regretted it. Rouge popped up in front of him and pushed him back into the wall. "Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been trying to catch you all day. It's like you're avoiding me or something."  
  
"No, of course not," Knuckles replied, avoiding her eyes.  
  
"Well that's good. After last night's episode you just disappeared. You know we're going to have to talk about it sooner or later."  
  
"I know, I know," Knuckles sighed, defeated. Stupid bat, he though to himself.  
  
"So you'll do it then?" Rouge asked, not being able to contain the excitement in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it. I'll get you your stupid chao..."  
  
"You mean OUR chao! And don't call it stupid! Oh, this is going to be so exciting, Knuckles! We're going to be -parents!-" Rouge twirled around in excitement. "I'll be home in a few hours. Remember, I want an -orange- one!" She gave Knuckles a kiss on the cheek and flew off.  
  
Knuckles wiped the lipstick off his cheek and sunk to the ground once more, reminding himself that big boys don't cry just because they have deranged bat girls chasing after them and ruining every 12 minutes of their lives.   
  
~BLACK MARKET~  
  
Knuckles walked down the path leading to the Black Market. They better have what I want, he thought to himself. If Rouge doesn't get what she wants, then...well I don't even want to think about it. He reached the doors and pulled them open. There seemed to be no one there. "Hello?" his voice echoed through the empty hall. Suddenly a black chao popped up in front of Knuckles. "We're closed," the chao responded in rough voice. "There's nothing here. Now get out."   
  
Knuckles was surprised at the unfriendly tone of the chao's voice, but that wasn't going to stop him. "Wait! You've got to have something around here somewhere!"  
  
"No, there isn't. Now leave."  
  
"But you've got to help me out! Please! Rouge will torment me for the rest of my life!"  
  
The chao raised its eyebrow at the desperation in the echidna's voice. "Did you say Rouge? As in, Rouge the Bat?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
The chao whistled. "That girl -is- a bit out of it. Yet totally hot."  
  
"Hey now, you stay away from my-" Knuckles caught himself and was surprised at what he was about to say. [1]  
  
The chao chuckled and started walking away. "Follow me. I may have just the thing you want."  
  
Knuckles followed the chao down the hall and into a small, clustered room. Knuckles stood in the doorway as he watched the chao wobble over to the desk, open the drawer, and pull out a small, dusty box. He opened the lid and inside lay a white wrapped object. Smiling, the chao lifted it out of its box and handed it to Knuckles. Knuckles unwrapped the object and turned it over in his hands, truly pleased. It was a shiny orange chao egg. "This is great, just what I wanted. How much do I owe you?"  
  
The chao waved its hand and walked down the hall. "On the house. It's not like -I'm- ever gonna need it."  
  
"Thank you!" Knuckles yelled down after it, but the chao was already gone. He ran out of the store, safely tucking the egg away, and headed toward the chao garden.   
  
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[1] OOC? Not entirely sure...but I had to give Rouge SOME props! Up to that point it seemed as if she was some mad serial killer! O.O  
  
ACK! Sorry this chappy is so short, but the next chappy is the good one....actually it's kinda boring...wait a minute I haven't even written it yet! GAH! Don't hurt me! Well...umm....I've never been the one to beg...but PLEASE review!!! None of my stories ever got many reviews...except for Twelve Talismans...but it got deleted. * sigh * 40...most reviews I ever got... SEE YOU AT THE NEXT CHAPPY...which should be up soon...!!!!!! 


	2. Chappy 2

HI PEOPLES!! Okay...it took me a while to write this chappy because I have had a lot going on in my life...so sorry if it seems all rushed and everything ^.^ OH YEAH! Thank you guys so much for the reviews! It's a lot more than I expected for this story! And I have never realized it, but Knuckles has his own Amy now!! I didn't realize that I altered Rouge's personality THAT much O.o Oh well! Onto the show!   
  
I would like to tell you all how this story was formed. I was over at my friend's house one day, and she plays as Knuckles and I play as Rouge. So since I don't own this game, she said I can have a chao on hers. So we got me a shiny orange chao egg, blablabla. When I thought that it would be a funny fanfiction of Knuckles and Rouge to have a chao! So as funny things kept happening, I made it final that I would write a fanfiction about this! So everything in this fic is based on a true story, of course details added here and there to make it more lifelike! ^.^   
  
Disclaimer: Knuckles is red, Sonic is blue, I no own, so you no sue!  
  
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Knuckles drummed his fingers impatiently on the warm, sun basked rocks. For Chaos Emerald's sake, he thought to himself. I've been sitting here for 20 minutes now! When is this stupid egg going to hatch?  
  
Suddenly a small cracking noise could be heard throughout the quiet peacefulness in the Chao Garden. "Finally!" Knuckles cried as he sprang to his feet and watched the egg with growing anticipation. The shiny orange chao egg cracked in a zigzag line across the middle when finally POP! went the shell. Knuckles put his head closer to the egg, not daring to blink or breathe. A shiny orange head suddenly popped out of the egg, and Knuckles staggered away.  
  
The small chao climbed out of the egg shell carefully and cautiously, then crawled around on the ground curiously. Knuckles regained his balance and walked after it. "Whoa there, little guy." He picked up the chao and looked into its eyes. "Hey...you're kinda cute..." [1] The chao cocked its head and wiggled its little body, trying to get out of Knuckles' grasp.   
  
Knuckles walked over to some fallen fruit underneath a tree. He set the chao down, picked up a small berry and gave it to the chao. The chao looked curiously from Knuckles, to the berry, then to Knuckles again. "You're supposed to eat it, like this," Knuckles picked up another berry and popped it into his mouth. The chao looked again from Knuckles to the berry in its small hands then delightfully started chewing on it. Knuckles couldn't help but smile, and patted the chao carefully on the head.   
  
"Ahem," a voice came from behind him. Knuckles spun around and came face to face with an all too familiar figure.  
  
"Rouge!" he cried out. "How long have you been standing there?"  
  
"Long enough," Rouge answered with a grim smile. She strode up to Knuckles and knelt down next to the chao. She smiled down at it and patted its head. "And how is Mommy's little girl doing today? Did Daddy feed you?" The chao looked up at Rouge with her curious eyes, then crawled around on the floor again.  
  
Rouge squealed in delight and grasped onto Knuckles' neck. "Isn't she just so adorable?!" Rouge went over to the chao and picked it up, but suddenly it started kicking its small legs and let out a continuous piercing cry. Rouge quickly set the chao down and stepped back, startled. The chao continued to kick and scream.   
  
"What's wrong with her?" Rouge asked Knuckles in an astonished, worried voice.  
  
Knuckles picked the chao up and gently rocked her back and forth in his arms then laughed softly. "She was probably the egg of chao adults raised by 'good guys'," he said. "Since you're a 'bad guy', she's reluctant toward you." [2]  
  
"So," Rouge said in a disappointed voice, "you're the only one who can see her?"  
  
"At least until she's an adult," Knuckles replied after he had calmed the chao and set it down to its business.  
  
"Oh." Rouge cast Knuckles a curious look. "How do you know so much about chaos?"  
  
"Sonic always asks me to baby-sit when he and Amy go out."  
  
Suddenly a constant beeping noise was heard. Rouge reached into her purse and pulled out her black beeper. "Uh-oh." She looked down at the chao then back at Knuckles. "This is an urgent call for me. I might be gone a week or so..." Knuckles was preoccupied with the chao, so she continued. "How long does it take for a chao to become an adult?"   
  
Knuckles turned back to Rouge. "With proper care, about a week."  
  
Rouge smiled delightfully. "That's perfect! Listen, I want you to take care of our baby while I'm gone. When I come back, I want her to be an adult so I can interact with her!"   
  
Knuckles stood dumfounded. "Why? Where are you going?"  
  
"You know that's professional secrecy, silly! I want you to teach her how to swim or fly, one of the two. Maybe both, but one more than the other. Oh, and I've been thinking of a name for her! I now name our baby, Pumpkin!" [3]  
  
Rouge knelt by the chao and cooed to her, "Do you like the name Pumpkin?" The chao looked at her and blinked. Rouge stood up and clapped her hands. "See! She likes it!" She walked up to Knuckles and gave him a short kiss on the lips, then ran a finger underneath his chin as she walked towards the ext. "By Knucklehead!" She blew a kiss towards the chao sitting on the ground and watching the whole scene. "Bye Pumpkin! See you in a week!" then an instant later, Rouge was gone.  
  
Knuckles looked at the chao rolling around cheerfully on the grass. "Well, Pumpkin, I guess it's just you and me for a while..."  
  
~OUTSIDE~  
  
"First of all, we should make your name permanent," Knuckles told Pumpkin as they exited the Chao Garden. Then we can see how healthy you are...and maybe even buy you something nice along the way. How would you like that?" Pumpkin cooed in Knuckles' arms, entertained by the wondrous outside world.   
  
As they entered through the doors of the Chao Kindergarten hall, Knuckles first made his way to the Fortune-Teller. He pulled open the doors, careful not to let Pumpkin crawl out of his arms, and entered. The room was dark and eerie. Knuckles felt uncomfortable immediately, and he knew Pumpkin did too, for she was writing in his grasp. As he walked further in, a dull light shone from the distance. He came closer to it, and finally made out that it came from behind a curtain. He pulled the curtain back, surprised to find a lovely adult chao sitting in front of a crystal ball, the object of the light.  
  
"Come in, children," the chao spoke out.   
  
Knuckles reluctantly made his way towards the chao and her "magic ball". He sat down in the chair she offered to them.   
  
"Ah, a new born. I see. Would you like a name for it?"  
  
"Yes please," Knuckles answered.  
  
"All right then, I will pick one for you."  
  
"No I would rather-"  
  
"Magic spells, I summon thee. Bring this chao's name to me! Presto! How about the name, Rover?"  
  
Rover? Knuckles thought. What kind of a name is Rover? "No thank you. I would like to name her myself."  
  
"Oh I see...well then, what would you like to name it?"  
  
"I would like to name -her-, Pumpkin."  
  
"Hmm, Pumpkin. That's a good name. I see a great feature for this chao, treat her well."  
  
Knuckles nodded and hurried out of the room. "That was...interesting," Knuckles muttered to himself. Next, he pushed open the door to the medical center. The purple chao sitting in the chair across from the room turned around from its work and lowered his reading spectacles. "Ah, Knuckles. What a surprise! What happened...another one of your chaos get the hic-ups?"  
  
Knuckles shook his head. In all his babysitting times, a few of Sonic's chaos had gotten sick and Knuckles had to rush them here in sheer embarrassment. "No, this time it's just to have a check-up." The chao got out of its chair and walked over to Knuckles and Pumpkin. He put his face close to Pumpkin's, as she stared back at him with curious eyes.   
  
"Hmm...this is a new one, yes?"  
  
"Yeah, Pumpkin was just hatched today."  
  
"Oh! What a wonderful name!" the doctor exclaimed as he put the stethoscope up to Pumpkin's chest. "So why did Sonic send you down to check on his newborn?"  
  
"Well actually...this one's mine," Knuckles mumbled out, hoping the doctor wouldn't hear him.   
  
The doctor gave out a hearty laugh. "Well congratulations, my boy! I was wondering when you and that bat would get together and form a family." Before Knuckles could reply the doctor took a step back and went back over to his chair. "Pumpkin is doing great. She's an energetic one...and very healthy at that. Take good care of her." With that he swiveled back to his desk and continued with his work.   
  
Knuckles took this as a dismissal, and walked out of the medical center. He looked down at Pumpkin in his arms. "Well that was...interesting." She stared back at him with her large eyes, then blew a spit bubble. Knuckles snickered. "Well, Rouge wanted me to teach you something...let's go back to the garden and think about it. Or better yet, let's go up to Chao Heaven [4] instead! Then you can meet the other chaos you'll be staying with for a while..."   
  
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[1] Hey...I figured Knuckles had a soft and cuddly side too...  
  
[2] Okay...the truth is that you pick if your chao is good or bad and then pet it lotsa times with a good or bad person...but I figured that Rouge would want hers to be bad...and the actual Pumpkin is a good chao...so...yeah...  
  
[3] I got the name Pumpkin from the level, Pumpkin Hill! My friend was playing it and I was watching her and thinking of a name for my chao...and I really liked the name Pumpkin!! ^.^  
  
Okay...there's my chappy. Yes, boring, I know. But hey, you gotta get through the boring parts to get to the funny and adventurous parts!! ^.^ Soooo I'll see you all next chappy!!!!  
  
R+R PLEEEEEEEEZE!!!!!!! 


	3. Chappy 3

Hey fans!! I am so sorry for the delay of this chappy. But graduation was just a week ago and the week right after graduation I was in New York and Washington D.C. I swear I'll try to post this chappy before Monday. And if it comes out any day after Monday, you guys can feel free to throw rotten vegetables at me . Plus I had to get the names of my friend's other chaos in order to do this chappy. Yes, I know, everyday excuses but hey, it happens! So, enjoy the chappy!!!   
  
Meganium Girl: Really? That's awesome! . And I'm sorry if I offended you or ANYBODY else about calling the chaos "it." But in the game chaos don't really have a gender until either you decide it or you can TELL it. So I don't call the chaos "him" or "her" until Knuckles, Rouge, or somebody else mentions it. I'll try not to do that in the future though.  
  
rewindgonenuts: Argh! I KNEW something was missing! When I scrolled down and looked through the story I didn't see any fourth point. shakes head Thank you so much for pointing that out! Yes, I didn't know what it was called back then, so I just called it Chao Heaven. But now I know that its Hero Garden and that the "Chao Hell" is the Dark Garden. Thank you!!  
  
Disclaimer: Knuckles is red, Sonic is blue, I no own, you no sue.   
  
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It was a beautiful and warm day in Hero Garden. Then again, when was it not? The small stream of water trickled down the rocks, the cool breeze sang through the trees' branches, and butterflies flew around, stopping to rest on flowers every now and then. Knuckles made his way through the entrance with Pumpkin squirming around in his arms. Even with her energetic personality, she stopped for a second and gaped at the beautiful place in front of her. But it lasted only a second.   
  
"Pumpkin, calm down!" Knuckles exclaimed as the chao wriggled this way and that to get out of his grasp  
  
Suddenly he felt a sharp pang in his finger. He yelped and dropped the chao on the floor, sucking his injured knuckle. "She bit me!" he yelled as Pumpkin crawled happily in the new environment. Suddenly he heard a chuckle from behind him. Knuckles turned all directions, not being able to tell where the sound was coming from. He spotted a bit of blue behind a pillar.  
  
"So, Knuckles. Not even able to handle your own kid, eh?" came the voice.  
  
Knuckles gave off a low growl. "So what's it to you, Sonic? You're the one who always leaves me with yours."  
  
Sonic stood up from behind the pillar with a chao in his arms and walked over to Knuckles with a sly grin. The adult chao, upon seeing Knuckles, gave off a delightful noise and jumped out from Sonic's arms. She crawled over to Knuckles' legs and motioned upwards with her arms. Knuckles laughed softly and picked the chao up. "Hey there, Roxy. How's it going?"   
  
Roxy made a cooing noise and snuggled into Knuckles' fur. "It seems your chaos like me better than their father."   
  
Sonic frowned and waved his hands. "That's only because you're here more than me. If Amy didn't drag me off to places, and I didn't have to save the world, then I would be happy to stay here with my kids." He walked away over to the pool, where two chaos other were swimming and playing with each other. He picked a white one up with two blue rings around each wrist up and set him on the ground near the tree. Sonic picked up a fruit and gave it to the chao. "Eat it, Ecko. I want you to become as strong as Shadow's kid." [1]  
  
Realizing she was finally free, Pumpkin crawled over to the pool. She peered over the edge and stared into the clear water. To her surprise, an orange head was staring right back at her. Pumpkin cocked her head sideways, only to find the other head did the same exact thing! She reached out into the water, her main goal to figure out who this other chao was who kept copying her. Further and further she stretched her little arm, not realizing that she was slipping from the edge.   
  
All of a sudden she felt a small force push onto her back, sending her sprawling through the air and SPLASH! into the water. The sudden rush of coldness enveloped her, and the pressure against her body caused her to flail her arms around, trying desperately to stay on top at the surface where there was air to breathe.  
  
Knuckles heard the desperate yelp and his head snapped to the little pool. He dropped whatever was in his hands, which unfortunately was Roxy, like a sack of potatoes and rushed to the pool. He flung himself into the water and grabbed at the flailing orange arms, the only thing he could see with all the splashing.   
  
After pulling Pumpkin onto the shore again, Knuckles hugged her close and realized his heart was pounding. How could this small chao do such a thing to me? Knuckles thought silently. How could she make me feel such...things? Am I that weak?!   
  
With a start Knuckles pushed Pumpkin away from him. He patted her on the head and she crawled away, acting as if nothing had happened at all. He got up off of his knees and looked over to Sonic who was leaning against a tree and laughing into his arm, desperately trying to hide it. Knuckles glared at him and growled again. "Not a word..."   
  
Another sound made them both turn around. A black chao was picking on Pumpkin and she was showing her disappointment by trying to whack him on the head. Unfortunately, the black chao dodged every attack. Both Knuckles and Sonic frowned. "Shadow, get your little monster away from my kid!" Knuckles scowled.   
  
Out of the shadows of the small loft in the back of the garden came a dark figure. He chuckled. "Relax, Echidna. He's not doing her any harm." Shadow slowly walked over to where Knuckles and Sonic stood. "Besides, your kid is so weak it won't even tickle Demon." Shadow stopped and grinned at Knuckles. "So, you and that bat finally got together, eh?"   
  
Knuckles opened his mouth to say something, but none of his words formed together so he clapped it shut again. Instead, he walked over to where Pumpkin and Demon were poking at each other and tried to break up the war. Sonic look over at Shadow and waited while Shadow answered the unasked question. "I decided to bring Demon over to see his parents for a while..." [2] was his excuse.  
  
But Sonic saw behind Shadow's poor excuse and smirked. "You wanted me to baby-sit, didn't ya?"   
  
Shadow was startled for a moment and then replied weakly. "No...why would I want to leave my kid with you?!"   
  
"Don't try to hide it Shadow. I know you by now."  
  
Shadow didn't do anything but grumble. When Knuckles had Pumpkin safe in his arms he walked back over to the group just in time to hear Sonic's last comment. "What are you guys talking about?" he inquired.  
  
"Oh, Shadow wanted me to baby-sit tonight." He turned to Knuckles. "Unfortunately, Amy's dragging me off to some boring play thing tonight, then I have to go out and save the world. So that means..." Shadow was also looking at Knuckles now.  
  
"Wait a minute...this isn't what I think it is, is it?" Knuckles looked frantically from Shadow and Sonic's pleading eyes, feeling like a trapped animal between the two hedgehogs. "No...I-I won't do it! Not again! Please, not again!"   
  
Sonic looked at the pathetic and desperate fool. How sad, he thought to himself. He's willing to go as low as begging rather than baby-sit a few chaos. But then again...I'm a bit desperate myself. With that Sonic flipped out his cell phone and waved it in front of Knuckles. "Well, if you're not willing to baby-sit, why don't I call Rouge right now and tell her that you let Pumpkin into the cold water, and now she's terribly sick and is too weak to even eat?!"  
  
Knuckles' mouth fell open. "You wouldn't dare..."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Okay! Okay! I'll do it!" Knuckles put his head into his hands, remembering the last time he had to baby-sit both Shadow and Sonic's kids. He shook the images of flames and other total destruction out of his head.  
  
Sonic grinned pleasingly and put away his cell phone. Shadow just 'hmphed' a supposed thank you and made his way to the exit, picking Demon up on the way. "Soul and Cash are asleep, and I'm just about finished feeding Demon. I take it that you'll take good care of them in my...absence." With that said, the black hedgehog disappeared in the dark shadows.   
  
Sonic raced around the garden and gathered all his chaos. He then stopped in front of Knuckles and put them carefully down on the floor. He gave a quick pat to Chaz, Ecko, and Roxy. "Well, I'm outta here. Good luck, Knux. See ya in a week!" With a blur of blue Sonic was out of the garden just as fast as he had appeared.   
  
Knuckles stared longingly at the place where both hedgehogs had exited. "Come back...please...come back," he found himself murmuring. He slowly turned his head to the four chaos sitting on the ground, staring up at him with those big curious eyes. It's going to be a long week...  
  
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[1] Shadow's kid would be Demon who's like the strongest of them all...and the favorite glares at her friend  
  
[2] I think Demon's parents were Roxy and Chaz...but I forgoteded...   
  
Well, there's the third chappy! Hope you noticed my pathetic attempts of humor. Knuckles was reeeaaaallllly OOC in that one. But wouldn't YOU be a crybaby if you were supposed to baby-sit 7 kids? I tried very hard not to make Shadow OOC because I really like his character...but anyways. The fourth chappy will be the funny one...I hope. So feel free to complain and comment all you want! I can't make any promises when the next one will come out but trust me, it will eventually.  
  
R&R PLEASE!!!!!!  
  
v 


	4. Chappy 4

AN: I HAD TO REPOST THIS CHAPPY BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON I COULDN'T SEE ANY OF THE REVIEWS I GOT (IF ANY) AND THE CHAPPY WAS ALL SCRUNCHED UP. SO I'M TERRIBLY SORRY IF SOME PEOPLE REVIEWED AND THE REVIEWS GOT ERASED.   
  
Hey guys! Well, here's the fourth chappy. GAH, I know I know. It took like 3 weeks to come out with this one but....uh....he made me do it!! -points to Knuckles- Soooo anyways, don't have much else to say. ENJOY!!  
  
Meganium Girl: Wow what a coincidence...great minds think alike I suppose. =P   
  
Goten Goku Son: -pats Knuckles on the head- Honey...Demon isn't even YOURS! Maybe if you were just a little more devoted to OUR children...I wouldn't have to YELL at you so much!! -breathes deeply and smiles innocently again- Now, run along and go feed Pumpkin. Oh! And next time we go to Sonic's house, don't hog all the blankets!!   
  
HmgirlKristi: Awww how sad! ;; I would DIE if I couldn't find my favoritest game of all time! Good luck with that. And good luck to your Gram too!   
  
wolfodonnell123 (if that IS your real name): You make a very good point there...I've always wondered what it looked like under his shoes and his gloves...if those are even gloves. But then again...if he had no shoes...that would mean he'd be completely naked!! O.O  
  
Disclaimer: Knuckles is red, Sonic is blue, I no own, you no sue.  
  
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It was a dark and gloomy day in the Dark Garden, and it reeked of a putrid smell. The walls were cracked and the ground was wet and soggy. Knuckles scrunched his nose as he walked in and avoided earth worms wriggling their way out of the mud. He carefully made his way towards the pool of red substance, which he was always too afraid to find out what it was, and scanned the place for a sign of life.  
  
He heard a few sounds off to his left, and assumed it was one of the chaos he was supposed to be babysitting. He walked over and, sure enough, Demon and Cash were fighting over a skull they had found on the ground. The were playing a game of tug-of-war with it, and it seemed like Demon was winning. Knuckles stepped in between them and took the skull away. "All right you two, break it up."   
  
Knuckles felt a sharp pang in his ankle, and bit his lip to prevent from screaming out. He cautiously looked down and saw Demon stuck to his leg and gnawing on the flesh. Knuckles refrained from kicking out his leg and throwing the chao into a nearby wall, and threw the skull over his head instead. When both Demon and Cash hastily made their way over to the discarded bone, Knuckles quickly nurtured his leg.  
  
He gave a deep sigh. "Stupid chaos...stupid hedgehogs...babysitting...stupid bat...," he muttered incoherently as he once again attempted to break the fight up. He finally succeeded in scooping both the chaos in his arms. He looked around for the other chao and spotted her across the garden, asleep. Knuckles gave a deep sigh and rushed over, not knowing whether to wake the chao up. After having another dreadful look around the place, he decided to pick the chao up.  
  
After a few shoves and pokes, Soul crankily awoke. Knuckles felt relieved that Soul wasn't like Demon and would throw temper-tantrums every time someone would do something to him, and scooped the chao up with some difficulty, just as she began crawling away. There, Knuckles thought to himself. Now I get to leave this creepy place and watch all the chaos at the same time.   
  
He smiled in satisfaction and started heading for the doorway, trying to handle all three chaos at the same time. Once he re-entered the Hero Garden, he set the chaos on the ground and watched them crawl away, heading in all different directions. Sure, the evil ones might tease the others, but it's much better than having to go to two places all at once. Time for roll call.  
  
Knuckles walked around the garden and looked in all sorts of places for the energetic little tikes. He found Chaz and Soul swimming in the pool, and he found Roxy drawing some flowers behind some rocks. Demon and Cash were crawling around randomly, and Soul was back to taking her nap. All accounted for.  
  
The echidna made for the exit, figuring he'd go get some fast-food or something, then stopped dead in his tracks when he realized something wasn't right. Pumpkin! Knuckles turned back around and immediately searched the whole garden for his chao. She wasn't with any of the others, and she wasn't behind the waterfall or in any corners. Knuckles ran out of the garden as fast as he could and headed for the Chao Kindergarten.  
  
She wasn't in the playroom, and she wasn't in the clinic. She wasn't at the Fortune-Teller's, and she wasn't in the Market. Knuckles began to panic as he ran out of the hall and into the Main Garden. "I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy..." he repeatedly scolded himself. Just then his pocket vibrated. [1] He pulled out his red cell phone and snapped it open. "Hello?"  
  
{ "Hi Knucklehead!" } came a voice from the other side. Knuckles groaned inwardly, not only at the fact that his girlfriend had just called him, but also at her bad timing.  
  
"Hey, Rouge," he answered.  
  
{ "How's my little Pumpkin?" }  
  
"Oh...Pumpkin? She's fine...really quiet. You wouldn't even know...she was here," he gave a nervous laugh.  
  
{ "That's great! Let me talk to her." }  
  
"Umm...I can't. She's...she's asleep."   
  
{ "Oh...well then put the phone by her so I could hear her breathing." }  
  
"Um...okay..." Knuckles looked around the room panicky and finally decided on the only thing to do. He held the phone a short distance from himself and started making cooing noises as he had heard the other chaos do before while sleeping. He scrunched his face, feeling his cheeks turning hot, and thanked God that no one was around to see this horrible act.  
  
{ "Oh, how adorable! Are you taking good care of her?" }   
  
Knuckles regained his composure. "Of course I am, Rouge. She's my child too." That sounded...different, he thought.  
  
{ "Good! You better not let anything happen to her, otherwise I'll have your stumpy little tail! Love ya!" }  
  
The echidna winced at the tone of the bat's voice and at the click in his ear. He gave a sigh and stuffed his cell phone back in his pocket, then quickly ran back to the Hero Garden just in case there was a spot he didn't look at.  
  
-- Hero Garden --  
  
Knuckles beat his head against a lone Palm Tree repeatedly. He had searched this place upside down three times already! Pumpkin was nowhere to be found. "I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy..." he muttered over and over again.   
  
After another few moments of scolding himself, Knuckles picked himself off of the ground and brushed the dirt from his knees. "I WILL find her, if it's the last thing I do!" he yelled in a confident voice at no one in particular. With that said, the echidna ran out of the garden once more to find his lost chao.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
[1] Yes, I KNOW Knuckles doesn't have pockets...just use your imagination, kay?  
  
There you go! Not my best but hey, I try. Hmm...we're not too far away from the end. Maybe 2-3 more chappies. Anyone have any idea where Pumpkin is?! I bet it's pretty obvious...but oh well! Don't give out the secret =X I was so gonna mention Julie-Su in this chappy because me and Knuckles just found out on Tuesday who she was. -glares at Knuckles yet again- But I think I'll keep that idea for the sequal...if there IS one . . .  
  
REVIEW!!!  
  
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	5. Chappy 5

Dude! I'm back! I know you all missed me . Uhm...I don't have any other excuse other than that I am a lazy bum and spend too much time doing other things on the computer Oo Anyways, I honestly forgot all that I was planning for this chappy, so don't blame me if it's all dull and humorless. I say we all blame Knuckles!

There wasn't much reviews to answer to for the last chappy, although thanks a lot for those who DID review, and those who don't hate me for the long update period. BTW, OOC means Out Of Character.

Disclaimer: Knuckles is red, Sonic is blue, I no own, you no sue.

* * *

After a long, perilous journey of retracing his steps, Knuckles wandered aimlessly into the Dark Garden, the last place on his list. He had made himself sick of worry and bad thoughts of what might had happened to Pumpkin during his carelessness. Not to mention what might happen to him once Rouge finds out.

"I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy, I'm a bad daddy..." he continuously muttered under his breath like he had been doing for the past hour or so. He inspected a rock by the entrance, decided it was clean and decent, and sat on it with a sigh. "Pumpkin! Where are you?" he yelled desperately without expecting any answer.

A sudden noise came out of nowhere, and his head popped up from his hands and looked from one direction to the next like a radar, searching for the source. His view came across a secluded corner, just beyond the pool of the red substance, and suddenly his knees felt weak with relief. There was Pumpkin, laying on her stomach by the ledge, playing innocently with a bug of some sorts, and making all kinds of exciting cooing noises. She turned to look at Knuckles and squealed in delight.

Knuckles wade through the pool, not caring what the liquid was, and climbed onto the small piece of land. As soon as he looked up from the ground Pumpkin was already attached to his face with her little arms and legs. He pried the little chao off with much difficulty and held her in both hands. "Pumpkin! I was so worried! I didn't know where you were and I was searching all over the place and I didn't even think of looking in here and-"

He stopped dead short when he realized he had been rambling off and Pumpkin was looking at him with her big curious eyes. Instead he gave her a quick hug. "Well, at least I've found you. You must have followed me in here when I came to get Demon and the others." He turned around and started making his way back to the exit with the chao sitting on his shoulders.

"You know I can't believe you've barely been in my life for a few hours and I'm already worried sick about you," he said absentmindedly.

Pumpkin cocked her head and gave him a happy smile. Knuckles couldn't help but smile himself. "I hope the chaos haven't wreaked havoc yet. Let's go see what's going on over there."

HERO GARDEN

Knuckles made his way into the Hero Garden with the little orange chao bobbing her head up down happily still on his shoulder. Surprisingly enough, everything was as he had left it. Demon and Roxy were fighting over a piece of fruit, Ecko and Chaz were putting on a musical show for Soul, and Cash was peacefully sleeping in front of a palm tree. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Knuckles knelt down and let Pumpkin jump off his shoulder and land softly on the grass. He patted her head and watched as she wriggled over to Chaz and Ecko's performance.

Well...Rouge wanted Pumpkin to have an ability, he thought to himself. I suppose I'll have to go out and find some drives. The chaos will be okay while I'm gone.

He spun on his heel and headed for the exit.

ABOUT AN HOUR LATER

Knuckles came stumbling into the garden, arms full of drives, head completely hidden by the massive cargo. He dropped them all on the ground in front of him and watched as they scattered. A small tiger peeked its head out of the pile, looked around, and began gallivanting about. Must've accidentally picked it up, Knuckles thought. Mental note: don't let any of the chaos near it.

He separated the yellow drives for Pumpkin and laid all the extras to the side for the others. As soon as he got up from his crouch on the ground, a sudden swarm of happy chaos surrounded him. One by one he watched as each of them grabbed a drive or two and giggled happily as it sparkled and shone all around in the air, then magically disappeared.

"It's like feeding time at the zoo," Knuckles grunted as he once again pushed himself off the ground. Pumpkin was sitting in front of him with her arms in between her legs, looking up at him with shining eyes.

Knuckles smiled a little and handed her the yellow drives, one by one, and watched as her curiosity eventually subsided from the sparkly things to a small bug crawling around in the ground. He sighed at her short attention span. "Now since you like the water so much, you can learn to swim, and stop yourself from drowning," he mumbled absently. "You're probably hungry by now."

The echidna walked over to a tree and picked up a small round fruit that looked fresh enough for Pumpkin to eat. He began turning around. "Here you-Pumpkin!! No! Put it down!"

The little orange chao had the tiger that was running around earlier in her arms, giggling and rocking as it jumped around in her lap, oblivious of what was going to happen next. Knuckles sprinted over to her side but fell back when a bright orange light surrounded Pumpkin. He shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted around it. After the light had subsided, Knuckles blinked a few times to get the black and green spots that clouded his vision to go away. When he finally succeeded, he gaped at what stood before him.

Pumpkin literally looked like a tiger. She was examining herself over and over again, as was Knuckles. She had furry orange arms covered with black tiger stripes; two little furry orange ears that popped out from her head; and to top it all off, a long stubby orange tail covered in stripes. After she was done examining herself, Pumpkin looked up and giggled delightfully, obviously pleased with the unexpected change. All in all, she was an adorable orange ball of fluff.

Knuckles tried to work his jaw while continuing to gape at the new form of Pumpkin. He bent down and lifted up each of her arms to inspect her more closely. "Holy Chaos," he muttered. "This is not going to turn out well with Rouge..."

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Whee! There you go. End of Chapter 5. Again, I'm really sorry it took so long and that it's so short. There's only about 2 more chapters in this story, and I hope to finish by at least the end of the month. Comments and compliments greatly appreciated! .

REVIEW!!

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	6. Chappy 6

Ahh, I am so **late**! Feel free to throw plastic fruits at me after you enjoy this wonderful chapter. 

Wow, thanks a lot you guys for reviewing:P I'm glad I have some new supporters. This is the most reviews I've ever had. Hmm...pretty sad isn't it? Oh well, the story will continue after these few messages:

**Knux Girl** - Yes, I know skeleton dogs remove the animal features, but you'll just have to read and find out on your own what happens . You have to expect the unexpected. Oh boy, that was so cliché.

**hieilover2004** - Wow...ten cousins? You poor soul. Luckily all my cousins are older than me and in Africa, so ha! P Enjoy the chappy!

**C. P.** - Don't worry about posting too many reviews, I honestly can't get enough of them. As for Julie-Su, don't worry about her. -wink nudge- I support Rouge and Knuckles all the way. In fact, I loathe Julie-Su. But, to make things a little more interesting, I'm going to add her into the sequel. I mean...if there IS going to be a sequel...AND, in real life, I chose for Pumpkin to be tiger, but I thought I'd spruce it up by it being an accident. Keep reviewing and enjoy the chappy!

Okay, guys, from now on I'm gonna answer ALL of the reviews, instead of those that just ask me questions.

* * *

**Expect the Unexpected**

**Chappy 6  
**.

The late summer humid clung to the air like a new born child to its mother. Everything had a slow pace about it; vendors who were usually kind and helpful wore frowns upon their faces, and their customers sighed every once in a while, dreading the start of the morning. Mothers sat outside in chairs waving fans in front of their faces while watching their solemn children playing in the park. Neighbors nodded to each other in acknowledgement instead of the usual friendly greeting and short conversations. Tired lap dogs slept in the shade of towering trees, ears not even perking up at the sound of a pedestrian walking by or truck zooming past.

Knuckles walked by without noticing any of this. He was on his way to the Chao Garden for only the second day of the week, every second to him seeming like an eternity. He sighed, not at all pleased at the fact that it had only been so long, for he was beginning to feel desperate in his current situation.

Yesterday he had left Pumpkin and the others hesitantly, both afraid of what might happen while he was gone and wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible at the same time. In the end the latter won. After Pumpkin fiddled around with the tiger and had a very unfortunate transformation, he had given up all hope. Parenthood was so time-consuming.

He let out another heavy sigh. He was trying to decide whether or not to give Pumpkin a skeleton dog, or stick with her current features. Pumpkin sure seemed to like the new change, but Knuckles was worried about Rouge.

In his mind of absence, Knuckles accidentally stubbed his toe on the pavement, which made him realize that he has already arrived at his destination. He entered the building after nursing his toe a bit, then headed for the Hero Garden. Over night, he had decided to put Pumpkin into Kindergarten, since she needed something to do during the week, and he really didn't want to be on babysitting duty the whole time.

The echidna reached the Hero Garden doors, and hesitated before reaching for the handle. He finally took a deep breath, and entered.

To Knuckles' great approval, the garden was completely silent, not including the water fall crashing onto the rocks below. He let go of the breath he was holding and began wandering around. Every chao was accounted for, either sleeping under a tree, behind a rock, or way out in the open on the lush grass. He spotted Pumpkin by the pool and knelt in front of her. Her little body rose up and down with each breath, and she was cuddling up with her furry tiger tail, holding on to it tightly.

Knuckles put a hand on her back lightly and smiled to himself. Great, now he has some time to himself. He lifted his hand off of the chao's back and began retreating, when Pumpkin's eyes popped open so suddenly it made him stagger backwards. She squealed delightfully as she recognized Knuckles, and attached herself to his leg.

"Yah!" Knuckles yelled, startled. "Hey, get off," he whispered fiercely, for he didn't want to wake the others up.

He tried to dig his fingers underneath her and pry her off of his leg, but his efforts were futile. After a few more tries, he decided to try a different approach. He picked his leg up and shook it up and down. Pumpkin's head bobbled up and down and she giggled happily, but she still held steadfast.

"Puuumpkin, get off!" he yelled in a whiny voice, and immediately clasped his hand to his mouth. Oh no, he thought. They're always worse when they first wake up.

He slowly turned around, and braced himself when a swarm of chaos ran over and literally tackled him to the floor. Some of them attached themselves to his other leg and even found room on the one Pumpkin was on. They scrambled up his arms and held on to his fur. ((1)) They were even hanging off of his dreadlocks! Some were giggling as they continued having fun with this new "game", while others wailed in whiny voices, either complaining they were hungry or bored in chao language.

Knuckles struggled off of the ground and strained under the weight. He tried waddling and wiggling around to shake them off, but they were just as bad as Pumpkin.

"Ouch! Get away from there!" he yelled as Echo played around with his tail, plucking out the fur strand by strand. "Get off...you pigmies!" ((2))

Knuckles finally reached one of the palm trees bearing fruit, and collapsed onto its base. He shook the tree some more, ignoring the tiny pangs as the chaos continued ripping the fur from various spots on his body. The tree finally gave in, and tons of fruits fell to the ground with tiny plops. In a matter of seconds, every single chao was off of him and on the ground, eating away happily at the fruit, proud of their way of manipulation.

The echidna lay sprawled on the ground, twitching every once in a while. His fur stood up on ends in different places, and in some there wasn't any at all. How am I going to tell everyone how this happened? he thought. I got mauled by hungry chaos? "Only five more days..." he moaned.

((A BIT LATER))

Knuckles sat in the corner of the Hero Garden with a brush. He had managed to cover up some of the bald spots, and he had successfully brushed out all the knots in his fur. After he was satisfied, he set the brush down and picked himself off of the ground.

After the little monsters had had their fill of food, they all set about doing their own things. Pumpkin, however, had stayed with him, sitting on the ground and watching intently as he attempted to beautify himself. Knuckles picked her up and set her on his shoulder and began heading for the exit. "You know...you've caused me a lot of trouble so far," he mumbled up at her. "Maybe if you stay in Kindergarten for a few hours, you'll settle down."

He pulled the handles of the Kindergarten doors and stepped in, stopping as he examined the cheerful interior. The walls were painted all kinds of colors imaginable, and there were chaos...everywhere. Playing with blocks, drawing, playing instruments and singing to one another. Knuckles was suddenly thankfully for only having seven chaos to watch over.

He took another few steps before gasping in surprise at the sudden smiling face in front of him. He guessed that it was the teacher, for she was wearing a shirt decorated in rainbow swirls and wearing a skirt that looked like it came out of a bad horror movie. Her face was plastered with a huge smile and her eyes were shining brightly. It was kind of scary, actually. Knuckles contemplated in his mind for a moment whether or not he should leave right now and never come back.

"Can I help you?" Even her voice sounded cheesy. It sounded sort of tired an grainy, as if she had swallowed some rocks and they affected her voice box. Yet it was entirely jolly at the same time.

"Um..." Knuckles stammered out. "Yeah. I would like to sign Pumpkin up..." He motioned to Pumpkin sitting on his shoulder.

The teacher gasped and clasped her hands together. She pressed her face directly in front of Pumpkin, making Knuckles have to lean back a bit to stop the teacher's nose from poking the chao's eye out. "She is _so_ adorable!" the teacher squeaked. She grabbed Pumpkin off of the echidna's shoulder and cradled her in her arms. "You're going to have so much fun here with Miss. Sunny, Pumpy wumpy."

Knuckles cringed at Pumpkin's new nickname. "Um, yeah. I'll pick her up...in a few hours."

Miss. Sunny reached over and patted the side of Knuckles' cheek. "Don't you worry, Daddy. Pumpy wumpy is completely safe here with me and the other kiddy widdies." She prodded at his side, ushering him closer to the door.

"Bye Pumpkin," Knuckles managed to say before the teacher pushed him outside and began closing the door. "Buh-bye now," she said with her cheesy grin, and the door slammed closed.

* * *

**((1))** Is that even fur, or is it his skin? -pokes Knuckles- Well, if it wasn't fur before, it is now.

**((2))** I don't even know if the Sonic characters even know what pigmies are. But that sentence was like branded into my brain, so I just had to add it.

The end of Chapter 6. I hope you guys had fun with that one. I know I did. I was actually rather hyper while writing this, so ignore all that is out of context for now. -gasp!- This is like the longest chapter in the story, and that's kind of sad. Anyway, I think the next one might be the last. I'm not sure yet, though. We'll just have to wait and see. Hope to see you next time!

Now click the review button. It loves you :3

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